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My Wise Country Cousin on Ferguson
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
10 Sep 2014
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Ahm prowd ob Fightin’ Furgasun’s po, wurkin peeples, heroic youf Dey de wonz we can count on wen we’s fightin fo’ Justus, an’ Troof—

My Wise Country Cousin on Ferguson

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Furgasun feel lak fresh air— a grate big festabul ob de masses
Now, de way folk unerstan it, depen on how dey see classes…
It’s lak de bus boycotts an freedum riots fo’ po’ folk lak me
But, de beginnin’ ob de en fo’ de blak booze-wah-zee…

 

Furgasun a revelooshunary skool teachin’ who/ how, ta fight:
Enamees ‘lef’, enamees rite, an’ enamees blak, enamees white—
Wen it pass a week, massas say, “Whoa, dis tang gittin’ messy!”
“We’s gon’ haf ta sen de Sharlaton boy, or at leese sen Jesse!”
But, ‘ol’ skool’ not enuf, dey mix ‘new skool’ in Massas’ Plan
Lak de ol’ witch: “a lil’ poison”——Blow, Lemon, an’ Van!
“Our niggas fly lak de witch’s monkees, roun’ de kid’s caskit
Speak disdane fo’ Fightin’ Furgasun: ‘millitunnz’ ta mask it!”

Me, ahm prowd ob Fightin’ Furgasun— speshally de heroic youf
Dey de onlee wonz ta count on fightin’ fo justus, ta tell de troof—
Dem fancy, remoat-cuntroled, Negroz ‘bout de bucks, an’libbin’ hi
“Follow de Eksampul ob Fightin’ Furgasun!” is our battulcry…

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at Raymond (at) upsurgejazz.com

Raymond Nat Turner © 2014 All Rights Reserved

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